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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · prune · bark · cold · present · season · squash · bowl

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — to shout
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. present — a gift
  16. cold — not warm
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — of the year
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com